Destroyed
by Incara
Summary: Lives change whether we will them to or not. Some things for the better and some things for the worse. But when something changes and you see someone or something in another light, thats when you know you've grown.
1. End of an Era

Destroyed

By Incara

I hope you like this. Please Review!

The war was sudden, no one expected it…. To this day no one even knew the people who launch it. A small city, not known for its military, not known for anything really… attacked us, a strong village full of extremely talented ninjas, and nearly obliterated all that we loved dearly. Though, for some stories to begin….. Others must end…….

Fire stormed through the streets, devouring house after house, store after store. All the things they thought seemed invincible to time, fell to its power. The swing at the tree near their once proud school fell from its branch and was engulfed in flames. The memorial stone outside of town crumbled and fell into shadows. The training grounds were no more… The hot springs, which brought much laughter and joy, steamed in fury as the trees and relaxing pool boiled in its own heat. The sacred house of the Hokage and the mountain behind, holding the memories of loved ones, disappeared… never to be found again.

Naruto watch dumbfounded as his home crumbled beneath his feet. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open. There was nothing he or anyone else could do. There was no water to quench the fire's thirst. No chakra left to try to bay it to submission. All possible solutions were not available to them. How had they, the mighty Konoha, fallen so far? How was it, that none of the genius's he knew so well had nothing to say…. Nothing in mind to stop it? He trembled slightly at the thought of the town being gone forever. To never run down the streets escaping from a jounin chasing him for his most recent prank. Would this place which he had come to love, never be the same again?

Naruto shook his head in dismay…. "Worse…." He thought. "Who would never return?"

Tenten and Neji stood neck deep in a river in the middle of the death forest. The trees near them were searing and moaning under the pain of the inferno eating at them. The fire bit into the river but never reached them in the center. They clutched each other while helping the other ninja stay afloat in the rapid water. They had come to the river to get water to the village, but the fire spread faster than they expected. In the end their valiant intentions had gotten them into a situation they were 

not well prepared for. The fire was too close the banks to climb out of, and their chakra was nearly depleted… not enough to let them graze along the top. Both were breathing heavily and dog paddling as much as they could. "Neji, I don't know how much longer I can hold out!" Tenten screamed as her head dipped under the water and Neji pulled her back up.

Neji didn't reply but held her slightly closer and looked around to for a possible safe haven from the elements. Sadly his work left him with no joy. There was no shelter from the fire except for the water and no small oasis of land not resembling hell. He looked at Tenten sadly for a moment and said, "I have no choice…. We'll only be safe if I let go."

Tenten struggled to look at him as the water slipped over her head again. She looked at the strong hand gripping the root under the water slide closer and closer to the end of the small twig. Understanding that once the small root gives out, or the power of her team mate falls into slumber from over usage, that she and him will float down the river and possibly never breathe air again. Safe was death…. There was no safe place here in life. She squeezed him a little in fear and pulled herself up for one last breath. Neji's hand slipped from the branch and their heads disappear from the surface, and together they accepted the inevitable.

There was only one place the fire had not reached, the one haven that only one ninja had found. Her light pink fluttered by her face and in front of her emerald eyes as she sat on her only reminder of the one she loved, a lone bench at the edge of town. She touched the bench tenderly, happy and yet sad at the same time. Her love was not there he would live…. But she may not. Sakura sat quietly and thought for an instant that she may run, live her life, never to return to the burning town. But then she remembered all the others she loved….. Her friends…. Her family….. She couldn't leave them could she?

The fire crept closer and closer to the one place she didn't want to vanish. She squeezed the arm rests of the seat and stood. Breathing deeply she walked towards the town. She loved him….. and she would never forget him…. Never stop fighting for him…. But for now there was another battle she needs to deal with. "He would understand" she told herself. "He would help, so….. In his place…. I will."

The horizon gleamed red and the night was warm. Ino sat shaking near Shikamaru and Chougi. They both tried to calm her as she looked towards their home. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye. She made it out with the help of her team to a safe distance from the town. All of the people that made it out sat on base of the statues beside what was once a great river. She glanced at Naruto at the top of the statues gazing steadily at the town. When had he become so strong? How could he stare at his home and not tear at the site of it? She hugged herself, and closed her eyes. This was a bad dream right? She would wake up and everything would be the same. She would go to her flower shop, smell 

her beloved Rose and open the shop. People would come-. What was she thinking? That would never happen. Her town was gone and nothing would be the same. She shook her head…. Never……..

Hinata stood quietly in a small group of her family along with Kiba and Shino. They had made it out alive like many of the other villagers. Her family was as solemn as she was, not for the town but for their missing member. Neji may have been from the side branch but they cared for him more now since the chunnin exams. He had left with Tenten after arriving with Lee and Gai to get water for the fire or the refugees. She felt bad but Neji held no fret in her head, she was more worried about the defenseless villagers fighting for their lives. She was helping the wounded and scared for a while now and was severely worried about Naruto. She rubbed her head as she bandaged another person.

She glanced at the small rows of people that didn't have the strength to live on. She had tried to help them but she didn't make it in time. Sighing she stood. She knew the number of rows would grow.

After a few days the fire subsided and the survivor gathered in what was the main area of town. Naruto stood at the front of the group, and turned and looked at them. "We have lost many, friends, family, heroes, idols…. A person every single one of you looked up to. I did… she had my dream. I may have mocked her but she protected this town till her death, just as her predecessors did. She was my friend too. May our Hokage rest peacefully." Naruto took a breath. "May we not stop but continue on and give birth to a new age! Let us not forget the lost!"

Everyone gazed upon Naruto, he truly had grown, and the disaster had changed him far more than any imagined. Then in a massive roar the crowd screamed in approval. They would not forget the past.

I hope you like this chapter. Don't worry more will come! Please review! I don't own any part of Shippunden Naruto or Naruto.


	2. Remember the Past

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HinaNaruFAN987: Sorry ' I had to….

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Sakura passed down the street, the shadows of once proud houses casting a dark tent over her body. She had been searching through ash and debris since early that morning. Occasionally a body would be found and she would be called to that part of town. Now with Tsunade gone she was in charge of medical help, she was happy the past Hokage taught her, her forte before the disaster which took her life. Hinata had help with the minor wounds, but she didn't have the deep knowledge she did. Sakura planned to teach Hinata some of the basics; she would need all the help she could get.

Reaching the top of a hill Sakura gazed over the ruins of her town. She never knew where she was anymore. There was no friendly reminders of what use to be there, no sign marking a shop, not even a mark placed there by mother nature herself. She walked a little more and reached the side of Shino. He was silent as usual but something was off. She gazed at him and finally said, "Have you found anything."

He took a deep breath in, "No, nothing…."

She smiled, maybe he was fine… he always had short answers, never wanted to talk much. Then thinking of other living creatures who would have been hit hard by the fire, Sakura asked worried, "The insects…. Are they alright?"

He looked at her slightly stunned that she would even remember the small creatures residing in his body while so many people were in pain. He smirked slightly and replied, "Insects are strong… they know how to survive, live in disasters. They lost a few, but most survived."

Sakura smiled brightly, "I'm glad to hear it."

She began to walk away when Shino's deep voice sounded again, "The people… how many did not survive?"

Sakura gulped, she didn't want to speak of the deaths, but as it was her job she replied, "So far about 100 were found dead, children, men, and women alike were in the wreckage. Some ninja even didn't return."

Sakura began edging away from him; she wanted to stop the talk of the fire. But he spoke too fast, "Sakura things will work out," a butterfly flew by Sakura and circled her and then landed on Shino's finger, "Life is everywhere."

Sakura smiled and continued down the path, further away from the village. Hinata then ran quickly past her, running in the opposite direction. "Hinata?"

She turned and ran back, she breathed heavily, "I didn't worry, nothing happens to him he's strong. I never thought…."

Sakura held onto Hinata's shoulders, "What happened? Who is he?"

"Neji! I never thought…. I didn't worry about him, and now, and now…" Hinata's voice was soft and weak from running.

"What happened? Where is he?" Sakura was worried, but yet at the same time convinced that it was just a miss understanding.

"He and Tenten went to the river in the forest of Death to get water for the fire and the civilians that made it out. They never came back; I didn't think anything about it. Neji is always okay, but… but they just found their buckets near the edge of the river… they weren't there." Hinata calmed a little.

"Are you sure they just didn't leave them there?" Sakura asked.

"Why would they just leave them there if they weren't in trouble? Besides, the fire surrounded the river for miles. They wouldn't have been able to get out."

"Come on, let's tell Naruto." Sakura pulled Hinata towards the town.

--

"Ino.. We can rebuild." Shikamaru reassured as the blonde fingered her beloved rose that was crispy and burnt.

Ino wiped away dirt on her face, she smiled and stood. "We can, everyone can. We'll be the strong nation like before."

"We will, and Naruto will lead us well." Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Yes, I think he will."

Ino smiled, "If you think he will, I believe he will too. After all he has grown a lot in the past few days."

"We all have, disasters will do that to you." Shikamaru replied.

Ino hugged Shikamaru and he recoiled a little. "Thank you, sometimes you do come in handy."

Shikamaru turned away from her and blushed slightly. "Girls are so troublesome."

Chougi swallow a few gulps of water, "About time."

Kiba looked at him for a moment, "Yea I guess you're right, as Kurenai-sensei said 'Opposites attract….'"

Akamaru gazed at the two men watching Shikamaru and Ino, he barked at the stupidity of the two and cantered off.

Kiba watched as the dog padded away, looked at Chougi with a grin he stood to chase after the dog.

Chougi continued to drink what was left of the cool water, and watched as Sakura and Hinata walked quickly to the edge of town. The others noticed the two and caught up behind them. "What's up Sakura?" Ino walked up, she didn't have the energy nor the patience to fight with her.

"Come with us and you'll find out." Sakura pulled Hinata a little faster.

Hinata had small tears in her eyes and the look of worry was painted over both their faces. Ino, confused, agreed to walk with them, along with her team, to the place Naruto had been working most of the day.

"Naruto, we need to speak to you." Sakura said glaring at the random group of civilians crowding around them.

Naruto turned and looked at the group, then at Hinata. His happy mood that had been building throughout the day quickly shattered at the distressed look on her face. "What happened?" He asked as he took Hinata into a hug.

"Neji and Tenten are gone." Sakura said quickly noticing the return of sobs emerging from Hinata's mouth.

"Gone where?" Naruto, still slow on matters, asked completely oblivious to the horrible meaning in her words.

Sakura shook her head, he on all people should know the meaning of 'gone'. "From what we know at the moment… their dead."

Naruto seemed to be hit by a door. "Dead?" he looked at the woman huddled in his arms, "How can… no it can't be right."

"Neji is strong, so is Tenten… how could they… die?" Ino said, the word 'die' struggled to emerge from her mouth.

"They may be strong, but their human Ino. If their dead, we must accept it." Shikamaru replied.

Lee had entered the large group just to hear the word dead, "Must all our conversations be about death?"

Lee was smiling and happy as ever. Had no one told him the horrible end to his team mates? The group was quiet, none of them willing to break the news. Naruto summoned up his courage, gave Hinata a squeeze and said, "Lee, Tenten and Neji… their-"

"dead." Hinata interrupted, knowing Naruto didn't want to accept the truth.

Lee's face hardened and the 'youth' his sensei always treasured seemed to slip away in seconds. Distracted by the words that hurt more then any wound he ever had taken, he forgot to reply or say good bye to the group before leaving. He slowly marched away, quieter than anyone had ever had thought possible for him.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, "We will need something to replace the memorial stone… until a new one can be made."

Sakura smiled slightly. "A new beginning calls for changes from the past Naruto. Perhaps to remember everyone, not just Ninjas we make a memorial wall," she pointed to the base of the mountain with the Hokage's faces on them. "instead of a stone."

Naruto nodded, and began to carve words in the mountain.

"To remember the past, we must change for the future."

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I know, the first few chapters will be boring. Try to stick with my story and I'll try to make it worth your time. Please review, any encouragement or predictions will be greatly appreciated, who knows; maybe I'll work in some of your ideas! Thank you to all readers! I do not own Shippunden Naruto or Naruto at all.


	3. Deep Inside

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The multitudes of villagers stood in single lines moving slowly towards the mountain side. They gathered at the base and listened to the disheartened loved ones of the dead list the departed's name and carved it carefully into the wall. Naruto stood a distance away from the wall; he wanted to wait as long as he could before he listed the ninjas lost. Maybe by chance one hopefully two of his friends would wander from the horizon, just to say they got lost. But he knew it wasn't true. No matter how many times he tried to convince himself of it, he knew things like that do not happen.

Naruto planned to write Tenten and Neji's names in the wall himself, thinking that it was the best way to honor them. Then, he felt a light poke on his back. Naruto turned and saw Lee's face, still blank with despair, "I would like to write their names Naruto. They were my team… please."

Their names had become taboo among the group of ninjas. Whether it was remembering the good times or trying to figure out what happened to them, they were referred to as 'them' and 'their'. Naruto understood Lee's pain; he had felt it when Sasuke left. But, how would it feel, he wondered, if his whole team were gone. Naruto thought of Sakura for a moment, what would have happened if she had not been there to take care of his emotional state. "He wouldn't be there" he thought looking at the ground.

Naruto stared at Lee, "I think they would like that Lee. You and Gai-sensei have all the right to."

For the first time a slight happiness came to his face, and then quickly it faded back to the solemn sadness he had since the night before.

--

Night quickly came and Lee took his turn at the wall. He chiseled the names slowly, hesitantly, almost as though with each letter he let go of each and every memory of them, ceasing the pain. Lee looked at their names slowly and put his hand on them, and let a tear slip down.

--

Darkness… it gave him comfort. It swallowed him so long ago that it was a consistency that he had come to love. There was a depth of silence that he had never experienced, and a peacefulness he could never describe. But, today the darkness was thinning; light was peering into the box he was locked in. Sound emerged from the where ever the light came from, and the soft comfort slowly faded to a hard surface. He was unsure whether he was too hot or too cold, too tired or too awake. He was confused and so was his body. Something was different, was he finally emerging from the darkness that ate him?

He shifted uncomfortably finding his body slowly moving with each demand of his mind. Eventually, he felt confined, not something horrible, but in something that he very much remembered. It was like home to him, but yet not a house. The weight lifted from his eyes and his eye lids opened, just to quickly close from the pain of the light. His eyes opened again, he was in a room with one window, the walls were white, and the floor was a brown wood. There was chirping outside, he summoned all his strength, and counted.

"There are eight…. Eight birds."

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Yes this chapter is short but I hope you enjoy it. My goal is to update as much as I can and I've already beet my other story. Please review! Thank you for reading!

Incara


	4. Revenge

Thanks again for the reviews! I hope you enjoy the next chapters! I do not own any of Naruto.

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Neji sat quietly in a bed staring blindly out the window. Rain drop lets dripped just outside of the glass panel. Neji closed his eyes and thought of the outside, the trees, the grass, the….. water.

Suddenly a memory gripped his mind and pulled him back.

--

Water, it was stronger than he had thought. It pulled him time and time again under into its depth. How long had he been drifting? How long had it been since the girl in his arms, tasted the air? Hidden roots, stones, and plants bit at his legs, tearing tender flesh. Neji was becoming weak; he needed to make it to the shore if he were to live.

He coughed up some water that had invaded his body, and his sight began to fade in and out. Pushing himself forward, he frantically looked for a way on to shore. Suddenly massive pain erupted in his head, and he lost consciousness.

--

Neji's hand slowly reached to his head. His hair was massively shorter, it was a little shorter then shoulder length and dirt and mud pulled it back from his face making odd spikes. He laid down slowly and then shot back up quickly. "Tenten."

He ran quickly from the room and hit the wall outside. He pushed himself from the wall and continued to run down the hall. Eventually he came to the outside, and he looked from right to left. No one was in the town, it seemed deserted. Then without warning he was tackled to the ground by two strong men. They pushed his head into the dirt and yelled. "And where do you think you're going?"

Neji twisted his head to the side, and looked at the men. "Oh so your blind?" one of the spat at him.

They pulled him up by the hair, and pushed him back to the ground. Neji picked himself up from the ground and turned to the men and glared at them. His chakra was returning and veins slowly showed from the side of his eyes. Gradually his eyes looked cracked and menacing, the Byakugan.

His Kekkai Genkai had almost reached its full extent, when a girl stood in front of him, and said, "I take care of this."

She grabbed his hand and quickly tried to pull his away. Neji stood rooted there, waiting for his power to come back so you could kill the two men. The girl spoke in his ear, "Neji, stop."

The chakra drained from his face, and he looked to the girl. Her hair wasn't in the normal 'two bun' hair style he was so accustomed to. A glint of a smile came to his face, and quickly faded as fast as 

it had come. This time he let her pulled him from the street and into a small closed in neighborhood near the edge of town. When they both entered the gate, Tenten turned and hugged him, "I thought you didn't make it. It's been so long since I had woken up."

Neji, looked around, for any passerby's and hugged the girl back. After he had held her for a moment he asked himself, whether he had done that by accustom in Konoha or if he truly didn't want anyone to know his second weakness. Tenten pulled away and looked at him shortly, and pulled at his now shortened hair. "You know, I hardly recognized you. If you hadn't almost activated your Byakugan I would have never known it was you."

"Where are we?" Neji now looked at his surroundings.

"Not sure… they took in a lot of refugees from Konoha though." She watched Neji's eyes quickly dart from side to side, "There are no other ninjas here though. Only the civilians, none of them know how to protect themselves."

Neji looked at the old houses, and the people walking from them. "All of them? They're all from Konoha?"

"Every single one of them, this village was kind enough to take in every one of them." Tenten smiled.

Neji glanced back the way they came, a gate had been closed and guards were standing in front of them. "That was very kind of them…" Neji said in a monotone voice, he knew they weren't free here.

He pulled Tenten away from the gate and walked into the belly of his prison.

--

Naruto sat at his desk, looking intensely at a map. Shikamaru and Chougi looked at the map as well as Kakashi and many others. Little pins stuck out of possible areas where the attack could have originated. "Twelve, there are twelve villages that could have attacked us." Naruto whispered.

"All of which are not Ninja villages." Shikamaru added.

"The stone, grass, rain, and waterfall villages are in battle." Kakashi listed.

"Sand is our ally." Chougi continued on.

"Sound is fighting among themselves." Shino said.

"Mist and moon have sent help to us." Kiba spoke up.

"And the village hidden in the shadows and Wolf village has not left the boundaries of the demon nation for many generations." Iruka finished.

"There are three villages in the Earth Nation, with possible ties to the attack." Naruto stated.

"Two villages in the Wind Nation that have ill relationships with us." Kiba pointed at the map.

"There are four in the water nation." Iruka nodded to himself.

"There is one village in the Lightning Nation." Shino crossed his arms.

"And there are two more in the Void Nation." Kakashi finished the list.

"All of the villages we've targeted have had some possibilities of making themselves a ninja village." Naruto reminded.

"We need to send ninjas under cover to the villages to see what they are doing, and if they have any trained civilians." Kakashi suggested.

"Who though?" Iruka asked.

Naruto sighed and rubbed his head, "The people I can trust the most."

The group looked at Naruto suspiciously, and Naruto continued, "Shino you will go to Dzonda in the Earth nation."

"Dzonda… I will leave in the morning." Shino stood and left the room.

"Kiba, you will go to Jilah. It is found in the farthest north-western part of the earth Nation." Naruto wrote something on a piece of paper and handed the sheet to him.

Kiba nodded and left the room on cue.

"Chougi, your village is Cogu. It is also in the Earth nation, except it is in the south east part of the nation." Naruto looked at Chougi.

He ate a chip smiled and exited out the door.

"Shikamaru you will stay here, and I will call on the sand nation to send Temari to the village Hioti in the wind. I will also ask for Kankuro to go the village Llor also in the wind nation."Naruto handed a sheet of paper containing a letter to the sand to Shikamaru.

He took the letter and headed to the bird carriers.

"Ino will travel to the villages Dral and Igulara in the water nation." Naruto continued.

Ino nodded and disappeared behind the door.

"Lee will go to Igulara and Odru which are also in the water nation." Naruto became grimmer and grimmer as he assigned each ninja.

Lee smiled and put his thumb up, "I'll be back soon"

"Iruka will go to the village called Sahra in the Lightning nation. And Gai will go to the village Ytata in the Void nation." Naruto said.

There was a pause, and Naruto shuffled through his papers. "I'm one short…."

"You have plenty of other ninjas to send to the last village." Kakashi replied.

"No, I need everyone else here to help… Sakura and Hinata to heal, and the rest are needed to protect. I can't send all the strongest out or we will be open for another attack…" Naruto looked from paper to paper with ninja's names on them.

Kakashi smiled slightly, Naruto had grown so much from taking the position of hokage. Everyone watched as Naruto thought as hard as he could. The room was quiet and light thunder rolled from an approaching storm.

Suddenly a thud made every single one of the ninjas in the room jump slightly. In front of the window a sword stuck straight out of the floor. A man entered through the window and a deep familiar voice said, "I hear you're in need of some help Naruto."

Naruto turned and looked at the figure, he smiled brightly, "And you will go to Zilo."

Naruto reached forward and pounded his fist against the figure's for the first time in years.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Another will come next week probably. This I must say was the most research I've done for a chapter. I mean I didn't even remember that there was a Shadow village let alone a Demon Nation! Thank you internet Please review!

Incara


	5. Silver Lineing

I do not own Naruto.

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Neji sat in a shallow sleep, leaning against the wall in a rundown house with 16 other people in it. Tenten was in the other room, she too did not rest well. She rolled from one side to another then sat up fully awake. She stood and stepped over the other residents of the house, and made her way outside. The sun had barely risen over the roofs of the other houses. Tenten rubbed her eyes and walked through the empty streets. There were no trees, no rivers, or anything resembling Konoha. She picked up a twig and flipped it in her fingers, the desire to hold a kunai in her hand again was driving her insane. With a swift movement of her hand the twig soared from her hand and flew in a straight path to a bag of sand sitting on some boxes. The stick impaled the bag and sand came slipping out. Tenten looked at her hand for a moment, then let it fall to her side.

A hand gripped hers as it reached the seam of her pants. Tenten looked to her hand and then the man holding it. The man's face was ragged and old, he had a crooked smiled plastered on his face. "You know, you shouldn't be out here alone. Something could happen."

"I think I'm quite fine by myself." Tenten replied pulling her hand from his.

"Oh, but you can't protect yourself… you need someone strong to protect you." The man grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him.

Tenten kicked him in the stomach and walked quickly away saying, "I think I'm protected enough."

The man appeared in front of her in a puff of smoke, "You think I don't know what you are? Stupid girl… I've been trained in the way of the ninja just as you have. Now, be a good little girl and come with me."

The man was about to grab her arm again when Neji knocked the man to ground and stepped close to Tenten. The man stood and laughed uncontrollably. Neji looked from the man to Tenten and back.

"Now I got you!" The man was still laughing, "Why do you think no Ninja's are in this camp?"

Neji pulled Tenten behind him, and prepared to fight. Tenten looked for any type of object that she could possibly use as a weapon but all that was round her was dirt and houses. She tried to be a useful as possible so she stood in Neji's blind spot.

The man stopped laughing and said, "You just killed yourself."

Men surrounded the two in a circle. Neji activated his Byakugan and counted at least 6 men hidden around the area, and 4 close enough to come running to aid the other ninjas. They were thoroughly out numbered but when had that bothered Neji before?

Neji smirked and raised his arm to face his palm towards the nearest ninja. Tenten bumped slightly into Neji as she backed away from the converging ninja. Neji glanced over his shoulder comfortingly at the Kunoichi, he hadn't though about the girl behind him that was so ill trained at hand to hand combat. Neji pulled back and surrendered to the men, they seemed to be well trained, and he couldn't protect Tenten and fight the men at the same time. Tenten looked at Neji confused as the men griped her forearms and pulled her away from him. "What are you doing Neji?"

"Saving you." Neji smiled and reluctantly was pulled away by the men.

Tenten eyes got wide and she thought to herself, "How is this saving me?"

Neji laughed silently at her expression, and turned the other way.

--

Naruto laid comfortably in his bed, and gazed up at the ceiling. He smiled to himself until a hole formed in the pit of his stomach. His smile faded into a frown, and he sat up to look at the map on his wall.

There were little pins stuck on the Konoha village. Each of the pins were different colors, each one showed at least one life that he put at risk. He rolled his eyes and looked out the window. The moon was in a waxing crescent, but looked purer then any of the full moons that he had ever seen. How could some things seem so right while everything else seemed so wrong.

There was a knock at the door and a reluctant face peered into the room. Hinata blushed and retreated behind the door then quietly said, " I… I was just…. Making sure that….. you were…. I'll leave."

Naruto tilted his head slightly in confusion as the door lightly closed and silence filled the room. He stood and walked out into the hall way, and watched Hinata disappear behind the corner. Naruto fallowed her to the door outside. He lost track of her as he made it outside and he looked around in the dark. Random Ninjas walked the streets preparing for the ninjas leaving in the morning, Naruto headed to the Ramen shop and sat down. Ramen was sat in front of him and he began to began to eat.

The sun peaked over the horizon and Naruto sighed and pushed the bowl away and left the stand. He went to the gate and stood with the ninjas about ready to leave, his friends. Group by group they left, and soon he was alone. Naruto gazed at the sky again. This time looking at the sun that peered over the horizon, rain further away made the light gleam and shimmer.

--

Neji was thrown into a cell with a tiny window, bars blocked the tiny exit. Rain seeped into the cell and rolled down the wall. He looked out into the sky and saw gleams of light that showed through the clouds. He smirked and thought to himself, "A silver lining."

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Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!


	6. Painful Memories

--

Shino walked slowly through a heavily shaded field, as he walked he sent out insects to scout the area. So far there were no threats, not that he expected anyone to be planning anything against him. "Dzonda." He thought to himself. "It's not far from here, I should probably start planning where the most strategic spot would be to camp."

Shino stopped and looked around for a moment or two, and picked up a small ant at his feet. The ant ,he could tell, was worried, and soon he realized it was due to the approaching person. He swiftly slipped into the shadows of a bush, and waited for the person to pass by. A man not much younger then Shino himself leisurely strolled down the nearby path. He stopped looked around and continued down the round. Shino slowly stepped out of the bushes, and walked to the edge of the path. The man had already disappeared around a curve further down the dirt road. Shino turned and fallowed the path a little of the ways till a small run down village came into view. "Good." He thought, " here's the main entrance to the village."

Insect bored a small space in a large trunk nearby. Shino crawled in, and started a small fire in the little room. "And so it begins."

--

"And the Coliestis poison can be countered by?" Sakura asked.

"Fresh water." Hinata replied as she helped Sakura rewrap patient's wounds.

"Very good." Sakura smiled.

"You seem to be in a better mood Sakura-chan." Hinata spoke quietly.

Sakura nodded in reply. There was no reason to explain her mood change, everyone who ever knew her knew the reason to why she was so happy. Sakura hummed quietly as she worked, and quickly went from villager to villager. "Well, I'm happy to hear it." Hinata smiled.

"Sakura."

Both girls turned to the Jounin entering the room and waved in reply. Shikamaru raised his arm in reply and then he sat on an empty bed across from the two. "Hello Shika." Hinata nodded.

"How's everything here?" he looked at the sleeping man in the bed closest to him.

"We've lost a few, but for the most part, everything is fine here." Sakura reported.

"That's good, one less thing for Naruto to worry about." Shikamaru fallowed the two out into the hallway.

"How's the mission's going?" Sakura leaned against the wall.

"Lee and Ino were traveling together, they went their separate directions to their assigned towns. Chougi and Kiba haven't reported back yet, Naruto is worried, and Iruka won't leave until tomorrow morning."

"And Shino?"Hinata asked.

"He's already at his assigned town gathering information." Shikamaru smiled to himself.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked finally.

"He left this morning and he'll arrive at the town in a few days." Shikamaru sounded as if he had practiced the answer.

Sakura sighed in relief.

"There's one thing though."

Sakura and Hinata's faces grew dim. "There's a chance of a second attack."

"When?" Sakura stood straighter now.

"Within the next few weeks." Shikamaru replied.

"How did we find that out?" Hinata asked.

"Something one of the attackers said in the last attack." Shikamaru closed his eyes.

"We need to get stuff together to support more injured." Sakura looked at Hinata.

"You two won't be working on the medical teams." Shikamaru looked at the two women.

"You don't mean…" Hinata left off.

"You're on the front lines." Shikamaru pushed himself off the wall and left the two.

"I need to start training again…." Hinata touched her chin lightly.

Sakura slammed her fist into the wall and small debris shot off into the air.

"What?"

"We'll get them this time, we'll kill them."

--

"How is this saving me?! Tenten yelled pulling on the chains connecting her to the wall.

"Tenten-"

"By all means you're killing me and you!" Tenten threw herself forward so the tip of her shoe could hit Neji.

"You're-"

"We can't die! You can't-"

"Tenten quiet." Neji yelled over her.

Tenten breathed heavily from pulling on the chains. "Look Tenten you might not understand now, but you'll understand soon."

"But Neji-"

A guard walked by and Neji cut over her, "I Love you too."

The guard smirked and continued on. "What?" Tenten asked Neji.

Neji smirked slightly, "Rest, you'll need it."

Tenten moved to the corner of her cell and watched Neji lean his head against his shoulder. He was chained so tightly that he could not sit or move from the spot he was in. Tenten nestled her head in he arms, a fell into a deep sleep.

--

Lee sat on a fallen log Near the edge of a small town. He closed his eyes and breathed lightly. The wind blew through the forest and leaves fell silently and landed softly on the ground.

"_What I'm saying is, in the end, everyone's alone, right?" _

Lee stood quickly and lept to another tree, then he sat again. Just like before, the wind blew against the leaves making them slowly float to the ground. Then, they would rustle, brushing against the dead foliage. "I don't miss them, I can make it through this mission." Lee thought.

"_You can't fool my eyes."_

Lee shot up again and jumped to the ground. He looked around him as if Neji and Tenten would wonder out of the forest. Neji would be smirking, Tenten laughing hysterically.

"_You're a failure."_

Anger shot through Lee, so much anger, that he threw his fist at the nearest tree. The old tree shook and fell to the ground with a deafening crash. Lee shivered at the sound and quickly found a place to hide in the area. Just as he crouched into some low lying bushes when a girl's voice sounded, "Hello?"

Lee pulled further back into the shadowy haven. "Hello? Is anyone hurt?" The girl crawled over the fallen trunk.

The girl's hair was slightly curled and she held a powdered blue rose in her hand. She wore common cotton top that hung slightly over her pants. Her top was a light pink and her pants were a deep maroon. A violet rope pulled the excess fabric of her shirt against her stomach. The girl soon became sure that there was no one around, "Marco!"

Lee laughed to himself and whispered, "Polo."

The girl's eyes became large and she turned her face in the direction of Lee's hiding place. Lee recoiled,"How could she possibly have heard that?" He thought to himself.

"Hello? I heard you, are you okay? Hold on I'll go get help!" The girl yelled and began to ran off.

Lee shot out of the bushes and grabbed the girl's wrist and pulled her into the depths of the forest. The girls pulled at Lee's hand over her mouth, she screamed and yelled but it was only heard as a moan. "Shh, quiet. I won't hurt you."

"Yem Yom wim! Lem me alom!" the girl yelled from beneath his hand.

"Look, if you'll stop talking, I'll take my hand away."

The girl looked up at Lee with teary eyes she nodded and lee removed his hand from her mouth. "Look I'm not going to hurt you; I just can't have you bring anyone here." Lee whispered in her ear.

"Who are you?" the girl fallowed Lee's example and whispered.

"I can't answer that, but what I can say is that no one can know I'm here." Lee slowly pushed his head band around and untied the knot holding it to his waist.

"Are you a ninja?" The girl asked?

"No, do you see a head band on me?" Lee smiled.

"Stand up." The girl ordered.

Lee acted as if he tripped when he stood. This gave him the time to hide his head band in his leg weight covers. "Are you okay?" the girl came to help him up.

His head band was safely hidden when he replied, "Oh I'm fine, I' just got up too fast."

"Well, I don't see a head band, and your too nice to be a ninja." The girl smiled.

"You know some Ninja?" Lee questioned.

"There are a few in the village, they were trained by another towns ninjas though." The girl sat by the fallen tree.

"Do you know what town?" Lee replied.

"No, but why would you want to know?" the girl questioned.

"Um… ninja have always intrigued me." Lee answered questionably.

"Ah, me too! I was adopted into another family, I was told my original family was a ninja clan and they had a special ability." The girl smiled.

"A Kekkei Genkai?" Lee said mostly to himself.

"Is that what it's called?" the girl looked at him oddly.

"That's what I've heard, I've…. I've never met anyone with… one." Lee said sadly.

"Oh, well I haven't found any special traits about me." The girl smiled.

Lee nodded in response and looked at the fallen tree.

The girl looked down at the ground, "Did you lose someone?"

"No. They just left." Lee looked at the girl caringly.

"What's your name?" Lee looked at the girl.

"Oralia spelled O-r-a-l-i-a." She said proudly.

"My name is Lee spelled L-"

"Yes?" Oralia asked intently.

"L-e-i-g-h." Lee responded knowing he needed to hide as much as he could.

"Hm, well, I'll take you to town-"

"No, I can't go to town." Lee pulled Oralia back towards him.

"Why?" Orailia shook her head.

"No one can know I'm here remember?" Lee whispered.

"Oh well, you can stay out here, I'll bring you stuff so you can live here in the woods." Oralia replied.

"You would do that?" Lee asked stunned.

"Sure, think of me as a team mate on your adventure." Oralia laughed, "I'll be back after dark to give you some stuff."

"Thank you." Lee whispered.

"_I will not die here." _

_--_

Thanks for reading! I do not own any of Naruto. Also all italicized quotes are actual quotes from Naruto


	7. Depth

I do not own Naruto.

--

"This is pointless!" Shikamaru sighed falling backwards onto the ground.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, he was lying under a tree with maps and documents scattered around him. Shika opened his eyes again and gazed at the clouds floating far above him. They all floated in the same direction, towards the horizon, of to somewhere far beyond the fire country. "How's it coming Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru turned his attention to the approaching Hokage. "Not well Naruto."

Naruto picked up the papers Shikamaru had scribbled on and tried to make sense of it. "What's the problem?"

"There are too many unanswered possibilities to block for the next attack." Shikamaru pointed at a few of the maps.

"What do you need to know?" Naruto put his finger on his chin.

"Their style, their skill, their ability to infiltrate, their.-" he saw Naruto's face furrow in confusion, "… a lot."

"That's why I have ninja at the possible attacking cities Shikamaru. Just give them some time and they'll get some answers."

"But what if it's not what I need? What if they attack before their back?" Shikamaru stood and pointed towards the village's gate.

"Wow Shikamaru… you've never been so upset before…" Naruto grinned widely, "You've never seemed to care"

Shikamaru looked at the man laying quietly on the ground. "How can you be relaxed?"

"Same way someone taught me when I was younger… I just look at the sky." Naruto stood and brushed his pants off.

Shikamaru smiled at Naruto. "Hm, what was I thinking teaching you that."

"Good luck Shikamaru." Naruto waved at the jounin and walked away from the tree.

Shikamaru sat again and looked at the sky, "… That's it…"

--

"Left or right?" Ino pointed accordingly.

She scratched her head, "left or right?"

"Oh! Where's Shikamaru when you need him?! I bet he's not have this much trouble!" Ino stomped on the ground making a small cloud of dust.

Ino sat broodingly on the path that split in front of her. The words left and right swam unceasingly through her head.

"Um excused me?"

"Why can't I figure this out!" Ino yelled standing up.

There was a light scream from behind her and a soft thud. Ino turned and saw a young boy on the ground behind her, shaking and looking at Ino in fear.

"Oh I'm so sorry! Can I help you?" Ino asked still thinking about which way to go.

"Um, I'm lost and I can't figure out which way to go…" The boy blushed slightly and looked at the fork in the road.

"Where are you from?" Ino patted the boy on the back trying to calm the boy.

"Dral." The boy sniffed.

"Really? Do you recognize anything around here?" Ino pushed the boy to look at the path.

"Oh ya! That lily! My sister planted that the day mother and father separated." The boy skipped off towards the lily.

The boy bent and looked at the light blue lily with large eyes. "It's a beautiful flower, here I'll take you the rest of the way home." Ino smiled looking at the flower also.

"Okay!" The boy smiled and skipped down the path.

Ino walked a small distance behind the boy and watched as every so often the boy stopped and looked back at her. The would then continue skipping, and a little bit later do the same.

The sun was beginning to set and darkness began to decend on the two. Ino yawned and rubbed her eyes. She sniffed the air and a sharp smell of smoke filled her senses. Ino looked around the area and noticed smoke rising over the trees. "Um… Little boy?" Ino said running to catch up with the boy.

The boy turned and beamed a bright smile in her direction, "Yes lady?"

"How about we stop here for tonight." Ino pulled the boy in the opposite direction of the smoke.

"But, we're almost there!" The boy tried to pull away.

"I know, but how about we rest. You look tired." Ino sat him down by a tree.

"But…" The boy yawned, "I'm not tired."

Ino rolled her eyes and watched the boy drift off to sleep. Ino looked around, picked the boy up and placed him in a hidden bush. She then quickly ran towards the city. Ino approached the gates, and she drew in a deep breath. She had thought the worst, but the town was still there. Ino untied her headband and hid in within her bags, then entered the gates. The town was bustling with life and people were shouting out sales. Ino turned and returned to the gate, she touched the arches, and exited. She returned to the bushes and picked the boy up. "Wha…?" The boy asked tiredly.

"I'm taking you to the city." Ino replied.

She carried him into the city and looked from one side of the street to the other, hoping someone would call out and claim the boy. No one stepped up, no one took the boy from her arms. "Excuse me?" Ino tapped a young women on the shoulder.

"Yes?" The women spat at her.

"Um, I was wondering if…"

"That damn boy! How dare he leave the city again!" The women pulled the boy from Inos arm's and threw the boy to the ground.

The boy shook with pain and opened his eyes and said, "Kind lady, it's okay you dropped me."

The women swatted the boy with the spatula in her hand, "I'm the only lady that you will talk to! You good for nothing, wretched boy!"

"Miss?" Ino caught the woman's arm and looked at her coldly.

"I have you know I've been happily married for years!" The women turned to smack Ino as she had the boy.

Ino dodged the spatula and watched the women snarl at her. "You are a bad influence! You should have never saved this boy, he deserves to die, like you!"

"Oh ya? You Bit-"

"Lady Masmune? Please forgive my cousin. She is new here and wasn't brought well. I'll take her with me as well as Behn." A man covered Ino's mouth and grabbed the boy's arm.

"I better never see that girl again Rane! Never or I'll…" Masmune's voice faded as the man pulled Ino and the boy farther and farther away.

"I don't know who you are, where you came from, or if you just came to get killed, but you need to leave now." Rane pushed Ino away from him.

"I saved that boy, and all I get is threatened?" Ino stopped her foot and glared at the man.

The man brushed his red hair from in front of his eyes and pressed his finger towards her, "You may think you saved Behn but your wrong! Behn got away from her because she was planning to kill him."

"Well if I had known that I would have never taken him back!" Ino smacked his hand away from her.

"Would you have? Or would you have just brought him back to get the reward put up by his sister?" Rane swung his fist at Ino's face and she dodged it as easily as he had thrown it.

"No, unlike that hag, I care for other people!"In a blink Ino reached forward and retrieved the boy from Rane's grasp.

"Your not a normal traveler." Rane smirked a if her had just won a prize.

"And if I'm not? Why would there be any consequence to it?" Ino crossed her arms and stepped in front of Behn.

Rane stepped forward and whispered in her ear, "There's a bounty for foreign ninjas."

Ino glanced at the boy for a moment and looked back a Rane, "And what would make you think I'm a ninja."

"I've been trained enough to know what a person looks like with chakra control." Rane smiled larger.

"_A bluff_." Ino thought, "Really and how would that look?"

Rane's eyes got large and he coughed a little, " Um, they have an essence about them that… reeks of charka."

"Really? I've really never heard of that in all the rumors I heard." Ino smirked a little.

Rane looked down and crossed his arms.

"_I've got him."_ Ino thought happily.

"Well I know theres something strange about you. But, since you saved Behn… Thank you." Rane bowed deeply and looked off into the fields nearby.

"I don't like you when you admit defeat… Your more attractive when your mad." Ino smiled and 'accidentally' bumped into him walking away.

"Do you have any where to stay?" Rane blushed a little as he asked.

"No, actually, I was thinking about staying at the Hot springs here." Ino pulled on her hair childishly.

"You won't be able to stay there, Masume owns the springs. You could stay in the extra room at my families home…. If you would like." Rane rubbed the back of his head.

"Thank you Rahn." Ino replied in a very flirtatious way.

"No… problem." Rahne replied.

"_I've still got it." _Ino smiled as she thought to herself.

--

"So… Konoha is in ruins?" A chubby man curled his mustache with his finger and smiled.

"When we left the fight, yes sir." Another man who was skinny and wiry soluted the man in the chair.

"Good. Now that Konoha is out of the way, our conquest for all of the nations can begin. Wallos! Get me my map!" the man yelled with bits of spit shooting from his mouth.

"Sir yes Sir!" the skinny man ran and got the rolls of paper in the corner of the room.

"Yes…" the man began rubbing his stomach, "Konoha has fallen, and now with the Sand helping them, sand will be weakened."

The man folded his hand and closed his eyes, "And we have a bit of leverage over the Hokage also."

"The Hokage perished in the fire sir!" The skinny man began shaking as the last words fell from his mouth.

"Blasted fools! Who is the ninja next in line?" the man slammed his fist on his desk.

"Well, by order a man named Kakashi." The man slid a picture of a man with white hair and a scared eye.

"Hatake? Anyone else?" The man grumbled.

"The previous Hokage ment for a boy named Uzumaki Naruto." The man then slid another photo, this time of a boy with blond hair and three scars on both cheeks.

"A boy?" the man laughed.

"Not just any boy sir. The boy with Kyuubi." The man replied.

"Non the less Wallos, he is still a boy." The man flipped the boy's photo off his desk.

"These photos are dated sir, he would be about 15 now." The small man soluted again.

"Still he is young. Well, does either of the two have connections to 'them'?" The large man pointed with his chubby fingers at a stack on papers.

"Well, Kakashi is a long time friendish…. Enemy of um-"

"Come on tell me!" The heavy man yelled.

"He has had a relationship with their sensei for many years." The man flinched.

"And Naruto?" The man pressed.

"He fought with the man in the chunnin finals." The small man replied quickly.

"What about the women? Is she of any help to us?" The man leaned back in his chair.

"Besides for keeping the man at bay, not really sir. There might be a bond with the two but not a strong one." The man looked at the large man questionably.

"At bay?" the heavy man raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, the man seems to have feelings for the women. He would have broken free long ago if it weren't for the women." The thin man crossed his arms.

"Very well, we'll keep her for a while." The large man belched loudly.

"Yes Sir." The thin man scurried off and left the man.

"Konoha had fallen, and their last hopes are a boy barely and man, and a lazy man. We have won."

"Yes, we have." A man replied, his red and black dotted eyes glowing in the shadows.

--

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The rating is going to go up now that I've figured out where I'm going with this story. Just so you know . Please review and comment!


	8. The One Thing

Her sight was blurry as she woke from her uncomfortable sleep. The chains restraining her chaffed not only her skin but held back all chakra she could use. They would have broken free long ago, returned home, and have seen all their friends if the people who held them there didn't have such an intricate knowledge of their skills.

Soft screams echoed from far away, a month ago she cringed every time she heard the yells. She would cry and ask for them to stop, but he had reassured her that it never hurt. Tenten was no longer sure he told the truth, slowly, in front of her eyes she saw him break down.

Every day when the guards would make their rounds he would loudly tell lies about some sort of fake feelings he wanted the enemy to believe. He would tell about how he loved her, how he would make sure she would survive even if he didn't. At first Tenten thought it was the truth that he told her, but quickly she realized it was some sort of plan he had quickly put together. Her mind had dulled over the two months they had been imprisoned, and she could not even guess at his goal. At one time, she thought, that she might have known, but not now.

In an hour, his torture would end and he would be brought back in front of her. He would be ripped, bleeding, and mentally exhausted. He would tell her it was never as bad as it seemed and then he would drift off into unconsciousness. She couldn't believe him, nor would she.

Tenten's clothes were torn, she was merely a shell of what she was not long ago. Hurt her but she couldn't help but wonder. Did it cause him the same pain as it did her to see her across the cell barely gripping onto hope? Did it hurt him worse?

"Neji." She thought, "Your strong, but not that strong."

**

Shino sat in his 'tree base' as he had for a couple of months now. He had collected information, but none that seemed significant. He looked at the scribbles that he had made at receiving news from the insects. All these months had only come with one usable message. This village was not the village they were looking for. They were being trained by another village, and if his guess was right, so were many of the other villages the other Konoha ninjas were sent to.

These missions were just a ripple in a much bigger pond. There would be one person that would come across this (how Shino had called it for awhile now) 'God' village. That one person would come across it and probably move on. If the villages that are being trained don't even know who's training them to fight, they have to be well protected and hidden. Most likely there wouldn't be even on Konoha ninja assigned to that village, probably not even on the map Naruto had.

Shino stretched his legs out in front of himself and sighed slightly. He stepped out into the sun light and began to walk in the forest. All the possibilities of finding the 'God' Village were slim if none. If they had take prisoners, or even had some type of rebel the village would be easily tracked. But, it seemed that the head of the organization was well in tuned with the abilities of Konoha.

"By now Shikamaru should be well aware of that." Shino thought.

A small ant walked past his foot. Some strange compulsion told him to squish the insect, though never before had he ever thought of killing a bug. Fighting the instinct he picked the bug up and moved it close to his ear. Listening carefully the bug recounted what it had heard from within the village. It told of two, the biggest needs of the village. But they were not in the village Shino watched.

"Names?" He asked quickly.

The ant did not reply, but only continued to tell about their states, "Suffering, much suffering. One kept alive by the other, both kept alive by them, your friends, your friends. Lies… lies he tells, truth, truth they know… no… they cannot."

Shino pulled the ant back from his ear, the ant was obviously confused, hurt, something out of the normal. The sentences were incoherent, at least with first thought.

"Your friends….." Shino placed a finger on his chin. "That must mean that they were once a part of the village…."

He placed the ant back on the ground and ran to his burrow in the tree. He grabbed at paper and quickly began writing a letter back to Konoha, coded in the language of the insect. "Finally" he thought joyfully, "A loosed thread in the tapestry."

**

Lee sat high in a wooden house built on the highest branches of the forest. Oralia brought him all the necessities that he needed; Food, water, and information. He was lucky that he stumbled upon her when he did, days later there had been a routine search of the surrounding area and he would have never know to hide if it hadn't been for her. But something always held him back from trusting her completely. Maybe it was that he couldn't trust her fully, or maybe it was because he saw both his team mates in her. Oralia was kind and happy like Tenten, bring the spirits up of all around her, and then there was the strength of continuing on and full filling a purpose that Neji possessed but never acknowledged.

She occasionally came to the little hut in the trees and visited for no apparent reason. Lee enjoyed the company and treasured every moment he had with a companion. He saw the time as a reprieve from the trail he faced. He knew he just had to try harder, and hopefully find the truth behind the disappearance of his friends. Lee often told Oralia about two people that he spent a lot of time with and that he was looking for the people who took them away from him. That's how he got them to work with him.

All he had gathered was that the ninjas were trained by another village, and the head was elsewhere. Though Oralia had made a comment once that there was a small camp within the town that they kept refugees in, but none seemed to leave. She told him it was that her town was kind to the travelers that they never left. Lee believed her, there was no reason to question what she said. But somewhere, deep down, that knew something was wrong.

The smell of blood wavered over the town, the musty metal taste. Every other week, he would hear screams, a sound of a wind like whip, then another scream. Chakra seeped out of the walls of the town, so much so that Lee, unable to control chakra, could almost sense it. Something was wrong, but he felt it was almost nothing. One day he would enter the town and laugh to find nothing within it. Nothing worthwhile to think over, nothing…

They were prisoners, probably people that had broken the law. Lee had nothing to think about in that village, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about those solemn screams.

**

The strike had never come, driving them crazy, to the brink of destruction. The clouds held no illusion to Shikamaru, they were now just the puff of evaporated hydrogen and oxygen atoms that they had been before. The clouds formed things he wanted to see, not what were. At one time it held his dreams and he could look to the sky and clearly see that they were.

Nothing had come for many days now. There was no new information for him to work with and he feared that there would be no more. Something told him that there was no hope. He turned into a very pessimistic person and there was no light at the end of the tunnel. One, one hint was all he needed, and he could start new. He could look at different angles, find another possible way. Just one.

Shikamaru sat and closed his eyes, he was fatigued to the point of insanity. Birds fluttered above his head. He no longer looked up, there would be no message clasped in their talons. There never was. Shikamaru jumped when there was a slight touch on him right leg. A large beetle rubbed against his leg and tried to crawl on top of his calf.

He quickly stood and almost smashed his foot onto the hard shell of the bug, but then a paper emerge from underneath the beetle. Shikamaru unrolled and gazed upon the scratches and dots. "Shino." He thought quickly.

At the top on the paper was a half star, an idea Shino came up with. His family was the only that understood the writing of the insects and all the letters he sent coded were only able to be translated by them. But, Shino had the idea that so if there was something of the up most importance he would write a half star on the top corner of the sheet so even Shikamaru could see he had found something.

Shikamaru raced toward town, "Finally" he thought, "That one thing."

__

End of what…. Um chapter 8 I think. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't own Naruto so don't ask ^_^'' Please review!


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